


wolf mother

by mooselady



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-03-21 21:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3705641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooselady/pseuds/mooselady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the desperation of hunger</p>
            </blockquote>





	wolf mother

**Author's Note:**

> going off the theory that the Arrows were starving at one point
> 
>  
> 
> [magpielady.tumblr.com](https://magpielady.tumblr.com/)

His father’s hunting lessons always ended with one simple parable. 

“Don’t kill what you’re not going to eat.”

Odin could hear it, as if his father’s ghost was still lingering in these old woods. He ran, faster and faster, dodging a tree branch and leaping over a fallen log. 

He couldn’t let his prey get away, not this time.

Lungs burning, eyes bleary, the boy darted as fast as he could until he could see the small herd of deer in the clearing.

 _Don't fuck this up_ , he thought. 

Body tense, eyes focusing on the animals, he slowly hefted his bow over his head, before pulling an arrow from the quiver fastened across his back; a back that was becoming sunken, belonging to a body that was getting dangerously, alarmingly too thin.

He placed the arrow in position, cocking his arm back and pointing its deadly tip in the direction of the largest doe. 

There was a crunch of a leaf beneath his boot and instantly his stomach sank.

The deer looked up, spotting the lanky teenager before bounding away from the meadow and into the safety of the forest.

He cursed under his breath, promptly hanging the bow over his bony shoulders. Determined, he took chase again, sprinting across the meadow and into the darkened woods.

Odin knew he was getting too far from home, too haphazardly off the known path. It didn’t help that the planet’s sun was sinking further and further down the horizon.

Still, he refused to come home empty-handed. His family _would_ eat tonight. His sisters would get their fill and for once sleep soundly. 

He moved quickly, cutting between ancient pine trees and leaping over sandy streams of water, ignoring the dizzy, lightheaded feeling in his head. 

_I promise, I will come back with food._

Odin bustled down a sloping hill, hoping to find the herd, when suddenly he lost his footing on a patch of sodden mud. He landed on his elbows, sliding down the embankment, and rolling unto his side to regain his composure.

 _Come back soon Odin_ , they had said, unable to hide the desperation in their young eyes, the longing for an honest-to-god meal. 

He got up from the wet, clammy ground and trudged forward, only tensing up momentarily when he heard the giant wraith chuckle darkly behind him. Out here, there wasn’t time to smoke. 

Odin just hoped the demon would lose interest in his endeavors. 

The last sliver of light was painting the trees around him, and there was no sign of the herd now. He shivered, unsure of what to do. 

_I can’t go back with nothing, I can’t I can’t I can’t…_

The boy turned and stopped in his tracks. 

Staring at him from a distance of twenty yards was a yellow-eyed, black wolf.

It watched him, motionless and unblinking. Odin’s heart started to pound heavily in his chest. 

He pulled the bow over his head, setting an arrow into its string, and swiftly positioned the weapon between him and the unknown.

Mouth dry, his hands going cold, he trembled as he realized the potential of what was before him. 

_Kill it._

He pulled the shaft of the arrow farther back, grimacing in distress at the knowing gaze of the animal. My family is starving, he screamed, but no words would come out. Gnashing his gritted teeth he hissed, “ _I h-have to kill you._ ”

_Do it._

_Come back soon Odin, Don’t fuck this up Odin, Don’t kill what you’re not going to eat._

_Do it now._

**Kill it!**

The wolf’s head dropped to look behind her, watching two pups trot happily to her side. She nuzzled their necks, peering at Odin as he lowered his weapon. 

He didn’t realize he had been crying until the wolf family had disappeared into the shadows of the woods.

That night, lying in bed, trying to forget the sharp pain in his gut and the even sharper pain of his sisters’ downcast eyes, Odin heard the demon whisper his own grim premonition.

“ _One day boy, you won’t hesitate to kill what you love._ ”


End file.
